Category: Competitions

Pure Ocean Fund, based out of Marseille, France is a foundation that finances innovative applied research projects to help better understand and protect fragile marine ecosystems.

***The Pure Ocean Fund’s 1st mission is to support these innovative projects concerning the conservation of marine biodiversity through an annual call for projects.

***The 2nd mission of the Pure Ocean Fund is to promote exchanges between seafood industry players, scientific experts, researchers and defenders of the oceans via the annual Pure Ocean Summit and other conferences.

The Drawdown EcoChallenge is a fun and social way to learn about and take action on the 100 climate solutions featured in the seminal work of Paul Hawken “Drawdown.”

From April 4-25, individuals and teams from around the world will take part in simple daily activities to reduce their carbon footprints and delve into the world’s most substantive solutions to global warming. At the end of the Challenge, the teams with the most points will win great prizes, including copies of Drawdown and a one-hour video session with Paul Hawken!

The EcoChallenges are broken down into these sections (with an added note of current participants):

LAND USE (1260)

ELECTRICITY GENERATION (1751)

FOOD (3156)

WOMEN AND GIRLS (1392)

BUILDINGS AND CITIES (1598)

TRANSPORT (1814)

MATERIALS (2094)

Executive Director of Drawdown, Hawken states “All of life is comprised of self-organizing systems and the Drawdown EcoChallenge is exactly that—people coming together to share, learn, support, imagine, and innovate for a better world. We are honored to be a part of this significant and brilliant initiative.”

The last time the ocean was as acidic as it is now was 50 million years ago and the change occurred over millennia, not over decades. We now know that the oceans cannot take infinite abuse.

The Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health XPRIZE is a 2 year competition worth $2 million dollars for team to create radical breakthroughs in measurement technology, namely ocean acidification (pH levels). The point of the competition is to accurately measure acidification for the first time. This alerts people to the fact that we’ve got a problem that is so important that someone is willing to put up private resources as a reward. One of the goals of this prize is to bring more instruments to the problem. There has been an ongoing dearth of data on the state of the health of the oceans. This is an opportunity to start fresh with new tools to share with the public what is really going on.

Measuring the pH in the oceans efficiently and effectively is no easy task. It isn’t only a challenge of accurate measurement but also the depth with which the sensors are able to sink and still perform.

Check out the source link at xprize.org for a video and to find out which team won the prize!

The ocean is critical for the planet and all living species. If competitions like this bring passionate endeavoring people together to make leaps, then what an amazing thing it would be for more such innovation-driven events to emerge.

In March 2016, a design student named Ari Jonsson entered in a design festival in Reykjavik, Iceland with his invention, a biodegradable water bottle that holds its shape while there is water in it. When it is empty, it naturally begins to compose. As it is made from jelly, it is even edible!

Ari Jonsson studies product design at the Icelandic Academy of Arts. After realizing just how much plastic we use, he decided that he’d take the initiative to offer a solution. “I read that 50 percent of plastic is used once and then thrown away,” he said. “I feel there is an urgent need to find ways to replace some of the unreal amount of plastic we make.” His solution comes from a source that is proving itself to be more and more useful: algae.

Jonsson’s water bottle can be formed by simply adding water and heat, then placing the jelly that forms into a freezable mold. When the bottle is filled, it keeps its shape. Then, when you’re done drinking whatever it is you’re drinking, the bottle begins to decompose. And, much like the delicious soup-in-a-bread-bowl, you can even eat the bottle.

Considering how many water bottles people use everyday (whether or not they recycle them!), this could mean a lot for the future of disposable containers for liquids we consume on the daily. Of course, maintain metal or glass containers is also effectively sustainable while these designs are in development.

JouleBug is the easy way to make your everyday habits more sustainable, at home, work, and play. Discover how you and your friends can use resources, without using them up, with this newly designed app.

JouleBug organizes sustainability tips into Actions that you Buzz in the app when you do them in real-life. Learn more about each tip with easy-to-understand Impact Stats, Bonuses, How-To Videos, and Helpful Links. Encourage your friends by sharing how you’re making a difference and following what they’re up to in the Feed. Join local Communities for the latest sustainable news, limited-edition Actions and Badges, plus get access to local Challenges. Track your impact with your career stats and utility graph as your Trophy Case fills up. Save money, have fun, and be a little kinder to the planet, with JouleBug!

Features:
EARN ACHIEVEMENTS
-Master Actions by Buzzing when you do it in real-life
-You’re awarded Points with each Buzz that correlates to the impact the action has on your wallet and the environment
-Earn extra achievements called Badges when you become an expert in the field
-Learn more about each action with Stats, Videos, and Links
-Localized content helps you find sustainable initiatives near you
-Easily discover new Actions by browsing various categories or searching

BE SOCIAL
-Share what you’re Buzzing to the Feed and Facebook or Twitter
-Add Photos to any Buzz
-Join local Communities to see what’s happening near you
-Like and Comment on others’ stories
-Follow your friends or see what’s Trending for JouleBug Nation
-Compete in local and national Challenges to see who’s the greenest

In their mission statement the UAE Government says they “…invite the most innovative and creative minds to find solutions that will improve people’s lives and provide positive technological solutions to modern day issues.”

There is a new 2017 competition being held. Click on the graphic above to visit their site for more info!

Who knows what all of the inventors will create, keeping in mind it is for good…a lot could come of such a competition despite their being only one “winner” we may all benefit from the hundreds of new inventions.